Last week, the German transport authority KBA announced it was investigating Porsche and Audi for cheating on emissions tests. Wirtschaftswoche, a German economic publication, says the KBA's investigation focuses on a system that uses steering inputs to determine whether or not the car is being tested. While Audi has recalled 24,000 models, Automotive News reports that currently Porsche denies any wrongdoing.

According to KBA, if the affected cars measured a steering input of 15 degrees or more, they would emit excess nitrogen oxide emissions. It's important to note that this is different than Volkswagen diesel CO2 emissions. The cars broke European strict emissions standards, so it's unclear what impact this has on cars in the US. Audi has recalled the A7 and A8, though it's unclear which Porsche models the KBA is investigating. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

A Volkswagen manager told the then chief executive and other managers that the carmaker's diesel emissions cheating could cost up to $18.5 billion, almost a month before investors were informed, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported. Investors were told about VW's systematic emissions test cheating using illegal software on Sept. 18 2015, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) informed markets.

The Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that Oliver Schmidt, a VW executive who was arrested in Miami in January this year, told the then CEO Martin Winterkorn about possible financial implications at an Aug. 25, 2015 presentation. German securities law requires firms publish any market sensitive news in a timely fashion. A probe by German prosecutors includes investigating whether VW disclosed details promptly.

The newspaper said Schmidt informed Winterkorn about the maximum possible penalty at the meeting that was also attended by Heinz-Jakob Neusser, VW's development chief at the time, and Herbert Diess, who still works as VW's brand chief. Bild am Sonntag cited U.S. investigation documents. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Last week, the German transport authority KBA announced it was investigating Porsche and Audi for cheating on emissions tests. Wirtschaftswoche, a German economic publication, says the KBA's investigation focuses on a system that uses steering inputs to determine whether or not the car is being tested. While Audi has recalled 24,000 models, Automotive News reports that currently Porsche denies any wrongdoing.

According to KBA, if the affected cars measured a steering input of 15 degrees or more, they would emit excess nitrogen oxide emissions. It's important to note that this is different than Volkswagen diesel CO2 emissions. The cars broke European strict emissions standards, so it's unclear what impact this has on cars in the US. Audi has recalled the A7 and A8, though it's unclear which Porsche models the KBA is investigating. . . .

I don't seem to understand the article. It seems to indicate that the VW diesel scandal was about emitting too much CO2 but not too much NOx. What?!

Last week, the German transport authority KBA announced it was investigating Porsche and Audi for cheating on emissions tests. Wirtschaftswoche, a German economic publication, says the KBA's investigation focuses on a system that uses steering inputs to determine whether or not the car is being tested. While Audi has recalled 24,000 models, Automotive News reports that currently Porsche denies any wrongdoing.

According to KBA, if the affected cars measured a steering input of 15 degrees or more, they would emit excess nitrogen oxide emissions. It's important to note that this is different than Volkswagen diesel CO2 emissions. The cars broke European strict emissions standards, so it's unclear what impact this has on cars in the US. Audi has recalled the A7 and A8, though it's unclear which Porsche models the KBA is investigating. . . .

I don't seem to understand the article. It seems to indicate that the VW diesel scandal was about emitting too much CO2 but not too much NOx. What?!

Different countries, different emissions violations.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

. . . Giovanni Pamio, 60, an Italian citizen, is charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, wire fraud, and violation of the Clean Air Act. Pamio was formerly head of Thermodynamics within Audi’s Diesel Engine Development Department in Neckarsulm, Germany. According to the complaint, from in or about 2006 until in or about November 2015, Pamio led a team of engineers responsible for designing emissions control systems to meet emissions standards, including for nitrogen oxides (NOx), for diesel vehicles in the US. The complaint cited a cooperating witness (CW1)—an Audi employee who works in Audi’s Diesel Engine Development Department—as well as contemporaneous documentation in the Statement of Probable Cause.

Beginning in or about 2006, Audi was designing the new 3.0 liter diesel engine that would be the cornerstone for its passenger diesel vehicle sales in the US. The 3.0 liter diesel engine was ultimately placed in certain VW, Audi, and Porsche diesel vehicles sold in the United States for MY 09 through MY 16.

According to CW1 and the documentation, Pamio and his co-conspirators realized they could not calibrate a diesel engine that would meet the stricter NOx emissions standards that would become effective in 2007 while staying within the design constraints imposed by other departments at the company.

According to CW1, and as corroborated by contemporaneous documentation, the proposed Audi 3.0 liter diesel engine employed Selective Catalytic Reduction (“SCR”) technology to reduce NOx emissions. As part of the SCR technology, exhaust stream emissions were dosed with a mist of a urea substance, commonly known as “AdBlue,” which converted NOx into nitrogen, water, and small amounts of carbon dioxide. The initial SCR design required a certain amount of AdBlue be stored onboard the vehicle to reduce NOx emissions to legal limits and reach a 10,000 mile service interval for refilling. The requisite tank size for onboard storage was believed by certain Audi employees to interfere with features considered to be attractive to customers, such as a high-end sound system.

According to CW1, and as corroborated by contemporaneous documentation, as a result, Audi employees, acting at the direction of Pamio and his co-conspirators, designed and implemented software functions, described below as a “dosing strategy” and a “warm-up function,” to cheat the standard US emissions tests. These functions constituted defeat devices.

—Criminal Complaint, USA v. Zaccheo Giovanni Pamio. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Later there will be also 150 kW chargers in metros, and up to 350kW charging along highways – a step change in the EV charging infrastructure we are really looking forward too (as well as EVs that can actually handle that kind of energy transfer). Suppliers of the hardware today are BTC Power and ABB.

Chargers are connected to the EVgo charging network, however Electrify America hints at its own network in the future. . . .

The above implies that they are putting in single units at each location, which we know is pretty much doomed to failure, as no one will trust them to be available when needed. At least they do seem aware of the need for multiple high-power charging stalls on inter-city routes, as the plan calls for 4-10 150 and/or 320kW stalls per station, spaced an average of 66 miles and no more than 120 miles apart. Direct link to VW's "National ZEVInvestmentPlan: Cycle 1

is here: [url]file:///C:/Users/Patron/Downloads/National%20ZEV%20Investment%20Plan.pdf[/url]

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

BERLIN - German carmaker Daimler has been accused of selling over a million cars with excessive emissions in Europe and the United States, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said on Wednesday, citing a search warrant issued by a Stuttgart court. Two months ago, Stuttgart prosecutors searched Daimler sites in Germany following allegations of false advertising and the possible wrongful manipulation of exhaust gas treatment systems in diesel cars. The Stuttgart local court's search warrant triggered the searches on May 23, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said.

According to that document, more than 1 million cars with excessive emissions, including various luxury Mercedes-Benz models, were sold in Europe and the United States between 2008 and 2016, said Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which researched the matter with regional broadcasters WDR and NDR. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.